Internet safety and email addresses and how to see if you have been hacked

Internet safety: Email addresses

With more of us online these days and crime statistics declining around the world, one area that criminals can still target is access to our personal, financial wealth. With over 9.5 billion email accounts having been hacked around the world there is a good chance that one of your email accounts has been hacked. Here are seven things that a hacker can do if they have gained access to your email:

1. Send emails from your address

2. Send phishing emails i.e. a scam email to get other information

3. Access your online accounts

4. Access personal information

5. Steal financial information

6. Blackmail you

7. Steal your identity

Indirectly there is a possibility that if you are hacked the information of others may be compromised.

Here's what you can do to see if your okay

Go to Have I been pwned: Email check

I checked three email addresses that we use as a family or professionally.

Professionally my principal email is okay for now.

This is what I found:

Unfortunately a personal email account has been hacked.

Just for the heck of it I put in one of my staff email addresses to see what happened. The very first staff member I checked had been hacked.

For me the next steps to fix this problem will be to:

1. Change my password as soon as possible.

2. Make my password stronger and longer.

3. Periodically come back to this website pwned to see if the health of my email passwords is okay.

4. Get all my staff to check the health of their passwords.

Sources

Matthews, P. (26 Feb. 2020). Password Security. Has the Horse Bolted? RNZ, Retrieved April 12, 2020, from, https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018736028/password-security-has-the-horse-bolted